The witch

Tituba was a 17th-century slave belonging to Samuel Parris of Salem, Massachusetts.Tituba was one of the first to be accused of practicing witchcraft during the Salem witch trials which took place in 1692. Tituba was the first person accused by Betty Parris and Abigail Williams of witchcraft. She was also the first person to confess to witchcraft in Salem Village. She at first denied that she had anything to do with witchcraft, but was then quickly coerced into confessing to having spoken with the Devil. Betty and Abigail then went on to accuse the other two women, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne.Other women and men from surrounding villages were accused of witchcraft and arrested at the Salem witchcraft trials. Not only did Tituba accuse others in her confession, but she talked about black dogs, hogs, a yellow bird, red and black rats, cats, and a wolf. Tituba talked about riding sticks to different places. Tituba confessed that Sarah Osborne possessed a creature with the head of a woman, two legs, and wings. By mixing the different views on witchcraft she unintentionally set Salem Village into chaos by hinting that Satan was among them.Despite the fact that she confessed to a capital offense and was a slave, Tituba was never tried or executed for her role in the witchcraft trials. She was sent to and later released from jail; however, there is no record of where she went after this. During the short-lived witch rials in New England, a number were hanged in New England, based on the Biblical verse that the people ought not to "suffer a witch to live." Author William H. Cooke in his book Justice at Salem argued that this change rom previous custom helped to spur the witch trial hysteria.Before (and after) this time the allegations against others made by witches were rarely taken seriously, as it was considered to be he devil's evidence. In 1688, another confessed witch, Ann Glover, was executed in Boston after she confessed to witchcraft. Glover accused others as well, possibly including her own daughter, but no additional charges were brought. Cotton Mather even suppressed the accusations made by Glover as he did not believe they could be trusted. Although his break from the past precedence had deadly consequences, Cooke still gave the people of Salem credit for not immediately dismissing the word of this slave or simply executing her. However this may not have been done out of any compassion for Tituba or real belief in her claims, but rather because she was used to settle old scores.